Conventional client/server systems may include a client, an application server, and a database system. The client may submit a database access statement to the application server. The application server may receive the database access statement and establish a connection to the database system to retrieve the requested data. Typically, the application server is connected to the database system over a network (e.g., a Local Area Network (LAN)). Generally, only a limited number of connections are possible between the application server and the database system. Also, the network connecting the application server to the database system may perform poorly if a large number of data access statements are communicated over the network.
Conventional application servers may include a table buffer. The purpose of the table buffer is to speed up data source queries by caching frequently requested data of the database system in a buffer. Table buffers should not be confused with a Database Management System (DBMS) cache. A DBMS cache resides in the central memory area of a database system and is managed exclusively by the database system. In contrast, a table buffer resides on a computing device connected to the DBMS by a network connection. Unlike a DBMS cache, a table buffer can reduce network traffic by responding to database access statements without accessing a DBMS over a network connection,
Some client/server systems may include more than one application server. Each of these application servers may include a table buffer to cache data from the same data source. If the table buffer on one application server is updated, it is desirable to update the other table buffers residing on remote application servers so that each application server is buffering valid data.